Hundreds of millions of years ago what we today know as Hellas and the Aegean was entirely covered by the sea.With an interval of millions of years Aegaeis, i.e. the whole area from the Ionian Sea up to Asia Minor and south of Crete, arose gradually from the bottom of the sea, and Aegaeis was born. In mythology there is a parallel to this birth, that of the birth of the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. Aegaeis had big lakes, in the northern part, which is now the northern Aegean, and near Crete. There were many volcanoes big and small which during the millions of years that followed played their part in the formation of the Aegean as we know it today, together with the earthquakes. Eventually and gradually the Mediterranean Sea covered the lower parts, and the same happened to the north with the Black Sea. By the end of the Pleistokenos era the Aegean and Hellas was formed more or less as we know it today, as volcanoes and earthquakes continued to change the form of the area.

However as we are now considering the prehistory of the north-eastern Aegean, we move in time millions of years later to the Neolithic Aage, where there appears almost simultaneously a civilisation in Limnos at Poliochni in 4000 BC, in Lesvos at Thermi about 3000 BC, in Troy, in Chios at Levkonia in 3000 BC, in Samos at Heraeo, in SAMOTHRAKI 3000 B.C. and in Thrace. It seems that Poliochni is the oldest, but the civilisation on all these islands is similar as the finds are demonstrating.

We find here predominant the religion of the Great Gods, of the mysterious Kaviroi, the Kavirian Mysteries, the religion and myths of Orpheus from Thrace, the history and development of music and poetry.

The islands were both near the coast of Asia Minor and en route to the Black Sea. So it was natural that the people would turn to shipping and commerce, particularly in the Cyclades, where we also meet another neolithic civilisation. Their shipping supremacy however comes to an end with the entrance on the scene of the Minoans of Crete, the well known civilisation which became the shipping power of the area.The Minoans, it seems, settled in the Cyclades as well as on other islands of the Aegean, a fact apparent not only from archaeological finds but also from mythology where Minos's grandsons, Oinopoionas and Thoas, became kings of Chios and Limnos respectively.

With the rise of Mycaenae, and their shipping supremacy in the area as the Trojan War, The Iliad tells us the islands followed the fate of Troy. The period from 1600-900 BC was a time of movements in the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranian. Tyrrinoi arrive at Limos, Achaeoi and Aeoleis at Lesvos from Thessaly and Boiotia.

THE CIRCLE OF PRE-HISTORY ENDS

When one is dealing with the Mythology of pre-historic times one is in fact dealing with facts and people whose story reached historic times by word of mouth, and which of course reached us disguised by time, imagination, exaggeration and superstition. However, in every myth there is a real story, well hidden, and for those who like a challenge, who love riddles, history, and mystery, studying Mythology is a very rewarding experience.

In these islands, we find common myths as their civilisation was similar and the same circumstances played a part in their development. We have therefore, the various myths connected with Hefaistos, the Kaviroi and Orpheus spread in all these islands. Hefaistos, the god of Volcanoes, of lava and fire, the ironsmith, or the inventor of various machine, lives at Limnos. Zeus, angry with him, throws him down from Olympus and he falls on this island where the people treat him with kindness. From the fall he breaks his leg and is thereafter lame. But he stays on the island and has his laboratory there where he manufactures all his miraculous inventions, encountered throughout Greek mythology. It is in Limnos that Thetis, the mother of Achilles, flies to ask Hefaestos for a new shield and spear for her son, according to the Iliad. Hefaestos, according to the more accepted version of this myth, with Kavrio, the daughter of Proteus, had three sons and one daughter together called the Kavroi. This is one version of the appearance in the area of those mysterious gods who were worshipped in Limnos, Samothrace, Imvros (another island of the Northeast Aegean), in many parts of the Trojan lands, in Thrace, Boiotia and the Cyclades. The Kaviroi were really considered as gods of the volcanoes and of subterranean fire, and as such we must accept that they were connected with Hefaestos. Some also say that they were grandsons of Hefaistos. Isiodos considers the Kaviroi to be the Titans. Apollodoros calls the Kaviroi the children Zeus had with Electra at Samothrace, Dardanos and Iasion. Dardanos left Samothrace and went to the opposite side of Asia Minor where he became the Patriarch of the Trojans. In Thibes in Boiotia the Kaviroi are also worshipped and called Prometheus (another god connected with fire), and his son Aitnas. The historian Ellanikos from Lesvos supports the view that they were children of Zeus and that there was also a daughter called Armonia who was married to Kadmos, the ancient king of Thebes, the brother of Europe.

Since Poliochni is the earliest known settlement in the area it is obvious where these gods come from and where they are spreading. Both in Limnos and in Samothrace the Kavirian Mysteries were as important as the Eleusinian Mysteries in later years.

The myths of the Kaviroi, Orpheus and the Argonauts have a common link both in Limnos and in Samothrace with the myth of the women of Limnos, who with the daughter of king Thoas, Ipsipili as their leader conspired and killed all the men of the island. The Kaviroi left the island after that. Shortly afterwards, however, the Argonauts en route to Kolchis arrived at the island and the women married them, the Kaviroi returning for the wedding. Ipsipili married Jason. It was Orpheus here that reminded his companions with his music that they had to leave the pleasures of marriage and sail for their original destination. And when near Samothrace bad weather threatened the ship, it was Orpheus who prayed to the Kaviroi for assistance which the Argonauts got from these gods who were also considered protectors of sailors. Orpheus was initiated into the Kavirian mysteries at Samothrace when the Argonauts stopped there to thank the gods. It is to Lesvos that the head of Orpheus and his famous lyra, a present from Apollo, were brought by the waves and Terpandros continued his music.

The Kaviroi were gods of the Pelasgoi and were worshipped wherever the Pelasgoi lived.The name comes from the Hellenic word Kaio which means" burn",and represented the burning of fire. They were worshipped from Boiotia and Evoia to all the islands up to the Hellespont and Thrace.

When the Minoans acquired supremacy in the Aegean new mythical figures appeared. Thoas in Limnos, grandson of Minos, son of Dionysus and Ariadne, and his brother Oinopoionas in Chios. The myth of Daedalus and Ikaros, fleeing from Minos in Crete is, of course, closely connected with hte island of Ikaria.

With the Mycenaeans taking over we now have all the heroes of the Trojan War in the Iliad, and as the war took place in this area all the islands are part of the story. A few decades ago the Iliad itself was considered part of mythology. However through archaeological finds we now know that this war did happen, and that the people in it were not fictitious after all.

HISTORICAL YEARS

During the 10th century BC, the Ionians from Attica began settling the islands of the Aegean and the coast of Asia Minor. A new power began claiming shipping supremacy -- Athens. The colonies in the islands, 12 in number, flourish and have their own allegiance, the Panionios. In these islands great personalities of literature, poetry, music, philosophy and politics appear, among them Omiros (Homer), Terpandros, Sappho, Alkaeos, Arion, Pittakos, Roikos, Pythagoras and many others .The islands flourished both in wealth due to commerce and shipping, and in culture until the Persians conquered them in the 5th century BC. However by the end of the Persian wars the islands were freed in 479 BC and became part of the Athenian League. The wish for independence, however, provoked the anger of the Athenians who appointed their own guard on the islands. During the Peloponnesian wars, 431-404 BC, the islands formed alliances alternately with the Athenians and the Spartans resulting in both powers alternately exiling from the islands most of the inhabitants. After this period of wars and troubles the islands lost both their vitality and wealth until the Macedonians, the new ruling power, acquired supremacy in 338 BC. The Macedonians were followed by the Ptolemaeoi, heirs to Alexander the Great, who ruled Egypt. When however the Romans appeared on the scene conquering all of Greece, the Eastern Aegean islands were gradually conquered and consequently influenced by their way of life.

THE BYZANTINE PERIOD

THE time came WHEN the huge Roman Empire was divided in two -- east and west. The islands now came under the Byzantine jurisdiction. Once again they found themselves amidst the the commercial and maritime routes of the times. Some flourished again until 1204 AD when Constantinople was conquered by the Franks, as the Western armies who were trying to free Jerusalem from the hands of the unbelieving were commonly called. The islands shared the same fate as Constantinople until 1261 when ownership of the islands passed to various big Venetian and Genoan families who had a keen interest in shipping and commerce. Limnos and Chios went to the Genoese Justinians while Ikaria went to the Knights of Rhodes and Lesvos to the Gatelouzi family.

MODERN TIMES

1453 AD. Modern times! Many countries of this world did not even exist at this time, but for Hellenes, with a history of more than 6,000 years, the last 600 years is considered as "modern times". In this unlucky year for Hellenes, Constantinople was conquered by the Turks and this meant the end of the Byzantine Empire, whose power had already been weakened by the attacks of the Franks and by internal strifes and quarrels. The Turks conquered the islands one after the other. Some of them were completely abandoned by their inhabitants, totally unable to defend themselves against continuous raids by the undisciplined Turkish soldiers.The islands remained under Turkish rule until 1912. During the Greek revolution of 1821 they also tried to free themselves as the massacres at Psara and Chios bear witness. However they fail. Not until the Balkan War of 1912 were they freed and united with Greece. Since then, they have followed the same history as the rest of the Hellenic nation and in the last few decades they have been invaded by tourists! This invasion however being at last a peaceful one is both beneficial and welcome!! >

In conclusion I'd like to quote a paragraph from F. MATZ "Crete and Early Greece" which in my opinion sums up this chapter:

"In reality the Aegean area formed a single unit, despite all the local differences that existed, as early as the 8th century BC when the first Greek colonies are founded. For this reason in addition to mainland Greece, we shall consider Thrace and the coast of Asia Minor, and the archipelagos of the Aegean and Ionian seas as well as Crete. The magic of this landscape is of course rooted in its unique natural beauty. Even where it is most grandiose, wild and elemental, one never loses the sense of being in a country that is civilised. But this term must be interpreted in its loftiest sense, to mean not simply that it abounds in works created by human hands, but that the whole countryside is steeped in history -- that it is permeated with a kind of spiritual quality. To understand the emotional intensity with which it is charged, it is essential to perceive it in continuo so to speak -- in other words, to visualize the close connection that exists between the present and the past, a connection that extends back even to prehistoric times."